All About Ghosts

For today's countdown to Halloween's reading suggestion: All About Ghosts, a book I often blogged about and which I revisited this year. Although Usborne's books series on paranormal was aimed at a young readership, its images remain pretty dark and sometimes even gruesome for its targeted readers. I don't know how we managed to convince my parents to buy us this one, given my mother's dislike of violence, horror and anything that was potentially nightmare inducing. Maybe she was not payign attention, maybe our pleas were very convincing. Be that as it may, All About Ghosts was THE spooky book of our childhood, telling us about folklore, legends, "real life" hauntings and... a great deal of questionable information. The book is not without its flaws: it is heavy in pseudo-science, it does not teach skepticism or critical thinking one bit. (although there is a section about hoaxes and debunked claims of hauntings) Reports of hauntings are presented as quasi proven and basically it blatantly encourages its readers to be believers in the supernatural. That said, I am easily forgiving because of how well done it is as entertainment: the atmospheric and absolutely gorgeous images and the pseudo-documentary approach should give any reader, young or old, a few pleasant shivers. I don't believe in ghosts, but when I open this book, I play along. Reedited recently with a foreword of Reece Shearsmith, because nostalgia sells.